Chrono Reset

Kaito woke up in his bed as usual, but something felt... different. The warmth of the morning sun wasn't as inviting, and the air felt too thick, like it was pressing down on him. His once bright, expressive face was now devoid of emotion. His eyes, usually filled with curiosity or excitement, were now cold and distant. The vibrant energy that once seemed to pulse around him had faded. Kaito sat up slowly, his movements mechanical, as if his body was acting out a routine it no longer cared about.

He reached over to his nightstand, grabbed his phone, and pressed the power button.

Date: August 12

Time: 6:00 AM

He blinked, staring at the time. Early—far too early for him. He usually slept in until his mom woke him up for breakfast. This felt off.

Without a word, Kaito locked the screen and set the phone down. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bare feet meeting the cold wooden floor with an unexpected chill. He stood, the sound of his feet against the floor louder in the silence. He walked toward the bathroom, every step feeling heavier than the last.

The bathroom lights flickered once before stabilizing, casting a dim glow. Kaito picked up his toothbrush, his fingers brushing over the smooth surface of the handle. He stared into the mirror, watching his reflection with a growing unease. The person staring back at him seemed foreign. There was something in his eyes—something missing. It wasn't just a physical change; it felt like a deep emptiness inside him that stretched to the very core.

As he brushed his teeth, something flickered across the mirror—like a shadow in the corner of his eye. He stopped mid-brush. His heart skipped a beat as his reflection warped for a split second.

Then he saw her.

A girl. White hair that shimmered like the first snow of winter, cascading down her back. Her eyes, soft and sorrowful, seemed to pierce through him. Her delicate features, framed by the perfect hime cut, gave her an ethereal, almost unreal quality. There was a sadness in her gaze that made his chest tighten, as if something inside him was breaking apart. The faintest smile curved her lips, but it only made the emptiness in him grow.

Kaito's breath hitched. He froze, toothbrush still in his mouth, his mind racing. His hands trembled slightly, the bristles of the toothbrush feeling foreign against his teeth.

"Who… was that?" His voice was barely a whisper, drowned by the pounding of his heart. "Why am I seeing this? Am I losing it?" His thoughts spiraled. The vision had been so vivid, so real. But he couldn't understand it. Why her? And why now?

He rinsed his mouth, but the image of the girl lingered, her face imprinted in his mind like a haunting. His hands shook as he reached for a towel.

Another knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, hurry up! I need to get in there!" his mom called through the door, her voice muffled but urgent.

Kaito looked at the door, his mind still reeling from the vision. "I'm almost done," he replied, his voice hoarse.

There was a pause before the sound of footsteps faded. His mom sighed as she retreated to the kitchen.

"What's with him today? Up early? He never gets up this early." Her voice faded as she muttered to herself, but Kaito didn't care. He just wanted to be alone.

Kaito left the bathroom and walked down the hallway. The smell of coffee and freshly toasted bread wafted toward him from the kitchen, but he didn't have an appetite. He walked past the living room, where the television was on. The news was playing, but it wasn't the usual morning show or weather report. Instead, a grim news anchor spoke in a serious tone.

"A mysterious organization continues to terrorize the city. Authorities remain baffled by the sudden spike in killings of innocent civilians." The anchor's voice was heavy with fear. The screen flashed blurry images of dead bodies, too distorted to recognize.

Kaito stopped, his feet planted firmly on the ground, his heart racing again. He turned toward the screen, feeling a magnetic pull, as if something deep inside him was telling him to watch closely. His stomach churned as the anchor switched to an interview with a witness.

"Can you describe the person you saw?" The anchor's voice was strained.

The witness, pale and shaken, nodded, his hands trembling. "He was dressed sharply, too sharply. I didn't see his face clearly, but I saw something strange. His gloves... they were glowing."

"Glowing?" The anchor repeated, a note of disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah. It was like a star. A glowing star symbol on the back of his glove," the witness explained, his voice quivering.

Kaito's eyes widened. The world around him seemed to slow down as the words hit him like a punch to the gut. His heart skipped a beat. A star. His mind reeled, the vision of the girl flashing in his mind again.

"A star?" he murmured to himself, the cold weight of the revelation settling in.

He took a step closer to the television, his body tense, his breath shallow. His thoughts were clouded with confusion, but one thing was certain: this was no coincidence. He couldn't explain why, but somehow, he felt a strange connection to what the witness had said.

The anchor continued, his voice strained as he asked, "How many people did you see with glowing gloves?"

The witness paused for a moment before raising four fingers. "Four of them. All with the same star symbol."

Kaito froze. The air around him seemed to press in on him from all sides, his chest tightening. Four. Four people, all with the same glowing symbol. His heart pounded in his ears, and his hands clenched into fists.

The girl. The glowing star. His mind was spiraling, the pieces of a puzzle he couldn't see coming together in strange, unsettling ways. He didn't know who those people were. He didn't know the girl. But somehow, he knew they were connected to him in a way he couldn't explain.

The coldness in his stomach grew. The fear was real. But so was the pull.

Kaito turned away from the television and moved toward the door. His legs felt heavy, like they were moving through molasses. His thoughts raced, and yet, they were still clouded. Everything felt out of place.

He needed air. He needed to clear his head, to make sense of all this. He stepped outside, the chill of the morning air hitting his skin like a shock. The world felt wrong—too quiet. Too still.

He looked around, seeing the empty streets stretching out before him. No cars, no people—just an eerie silence. Even the sky, still a pale blue from the early morning, felt distant and cold.

Kaito took a slow breath, but it did nothing to calm the panic rising inside him. There was something out there. Something he couldn't see, but he felt it all the same. His fingers curled into tight fists by his sides, the unease inside him growing.

The whisper in the back of his mind was louder now. A memory? Or maybe a warning? It was hard to tell. But it was there, gnawing at him, telling him that he was caught in something much bigger than himself.

And he had no idea what to do about it.